ORLANDO, Fla. — Police say that two people were killed and seven others were hurt in a shooting in downtown Orlando early Friday morning, while a lot of people were celebrating Halloween.
A 17-year-old was arrested on suspicion of killing the person. No reason has been found, and the names of the people who were killed or hurt have not been made public. Police said the people who were hurt were between the ages of 18 and 39. The two people who were killed were 19 and 25 years old.
Six of the people who were hurt were shot, and a 26-year-old woman was hurt when she was stepped on as the crowd ran away.
Eric Smith, the chief of police in Orlando, said that shots were fired at Central Boulevard and Orange Avenue just after 1 a.m. and that more shots were fired nearby soon after.
Police said that the suspect, Jaylen Dwayne Edgar, was caught and put in jail. After that, he was charged with two counts of first-degree murder with a gun and six counts of attempted first-degree murder with a gun.
The office of the state attorney for the Ninth Circuit said on Monday that Edgar had been charged as an adult.
He had been caught for grand theft before, in 2023, and the case is still being looked into.
Smith told reporters on Friday afternoon that the suspect had not helped the cops. Police are trying to figure out how he got the gun.
CCTV footage made public by Orlando police showed the suspect in the yellow shirt walking through the crowd. It looked like he was going to raise his right hand and fire. The video shows that as gunshots rang out, people ran off in different directions. In the police film, one officer hit the suspect and three others ran to help arrest him.
Smith said that between 50,000 and 100,000 people come to the city on Halloween, making it one of the busiest nights of the year. There were about 100 police officers patrolling the area, and Smith said they quickly caught the shooter.
“The police did a great job.” They came right away when they heard the gunshots, you know. That’s why everyone is running. They’re not; they’re just waiting for someone to shoot. They knew who was shooting. “They beat him up,” he said.
He said the suspect was set on killing the person and didn’t seem to be scared off by the cops.
“He was going to shoot no matter what his thoughts were.” He walked by several police cops… At least 10 police cops were right there when he walked by, Smith said.
In the wake of the shooting, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer declared a state of emergency in the downtown nightlife area and put in place a 1 a.m. curfew. Also, booze won’t be sold after midnight for the next seven days.
Dyer said that the city had put in place safety steps in the downtown area, such as coordinated entry and screening for weapons.
He said that new rules in the state have “made it even easier for people to carry guns and bring guns downtown.” Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law last year that lets people in Florida carry a loaded gun hidden without a permit.
Dyer said, “To be honest, I’m angry that I have to stand here and tell you all again that another life has been lost senselessly because of gun violence.”
People working and walking around downtown on Friday morning didn’t seem to notice the shooting that happened hours before. There were 10 feet of yellow police tape between a parking meter and a business close.
Rocio Taylor, 70, lives about three blocks from where the killing happened. She said that on the weekends, she doesn’t go out after 7 p.m. because it’s too loud in bars and clubs. She also said that the area has a lot of events that bring in young people. She works at a store that sells wedding dresses and said she would like to see more cops.
She told me, “It’s Halloween.” “They have too much to drink.” They go to clubs at night. “They’re not in charge.”
Source: 2 fatally shot and 7 injured in Orlando during Halloween celebrations
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